Web 2.0 within organisations: Bridging the gap between KM technology-centred and people-centred approaches

Organisations have begun projects to improve the implementation of Knowledge Management (KM). There are two approaches to implementing KM: the KM technology-centred approach and the KM people-centred approach. Information technology (IT) has been a central element of many of KM projects. Recently, the emerging information technology known as Web 2.0 is recognised for enabling the process of managing organisational knowledge. This technology could be used as a collaborative system for knowledge management (KM) within enterprises. It is a web-based social software that facilitate collaboration, communication and information flow in a bidirectional manner: an essential aspect of organisational knowledge management. Therefore, this paper argues that such technology support KM technology-centred and KM people-centred approaches, towards bridging the current gap between these two approaches. This is the first stage of an ongoing research project that will end up with an empirical study. The empirical study will demonstrate the ability of Web 2.0 to facilitate the two KM approaches.